The Trump administration is widening its Medicaid fraud crackdown to Florida, with CMS sending a letter March 17 to Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state leaders that requests information on how the state identifies, prevents and addresses Medicaid program integrity issues. The letter is the first from the administration directed to a Republican-led state after it previously targeted New York, Minnesota, Maine and California.
The letter from CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, first raised concerns of possible Medicare fraud with durable medical equipment in Florida, describing the situation as “horrifying.” In February, the administration set a six-month moratorium on new Medicare enrollment for some durable medical equipment, prosthetics and orthotics suppliers. A CMS news release said the agency blocked $1.5 billion in suspected fraudulent billing for this category in 2025.
Dr. Oz said fraud issues could also leak into Medicaid. For example, he said the owner of a home services provider in Florida was arrested for alleged Medicaid fraud in 2025, and he cited cases of potential fraud with nonemergency medical transportation and Applied Behavior Analysis services.
“This environment of pervasive fraud is not confined to Medicare and has inevitably led to schemes directly targeting the Florida Medicaid program,” he wrote.
In response, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit recently arrested a man for allegedly “stealing Medicaid money.” Both Mr. Uthmeier and Florida Gov. DeSantis’ chief of staff, Jason Weida, said the state is working closely with CMS to address the concerns.
“We have zero tolerance for waste, fraud and abuse — and we will aggressively deploy every resource necessary to root it out at any level in our state,” Mr. Weida said.
The same day, CMS Deputy Administrator Kimberly Brandt confirmed Dr. Oz’s letter during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations under the Republican-controlled House Committee on Energy and Commerce. In his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Congressman John Joyce, MD, R-Pa., mentioned Florida and its possible Medicare fraud with durable medical equipment.
While the committee had already sent letters to California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington in its own Medicaid probe, the website did not include any letters sent to Florida as of March 18. Those 10 states had until March 17 to answer questions outlined by the committee. Dr. Oz has also been using social media to reach out to state leaders, and he gave Florida 30 days to respond.
On March 16, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that established a task force focused on public benefits fraud, chaired by Vice President JD Vance. During his 2026 State of the Union speech, the president said Mr. Vance would lead “the war on fraud.”
Fraud concerns have been rampant ever since Minnesota became an early target over its Medicaid program. In January, CMS threatened to withhold a maximum of around $2 billion per year from the state, and Minnesota appealed that action. CMS froze about $260 million in funding to the state. Days later, Minnesota filed a lawsuit against the federal government.
Becker’s contacted the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and will update this story if more information becomes available.
